1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Overview of the Opioid Litigation and Related Settlements and Settlement Proposals November 25, 2019 According to the latest available data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the opioid
2、epidemic has claimed the lives of nearly 400,000 people in the United States between 1999 and 2017. As described in an earlier Sidebar, the severity of the epidemic has prompted state and local governments to address the issue not only through legislation and executive actions, but also through cour
3、t challenges filed around the country that seek to hold certain opioid manufacturers, distributors, or other supply chain entities legally liable for the epidemic. These challengeswhich generally seek to recover the costs incurred or will be incurred by the state and local governments to address the
4、 epidemichave generally proceeded in two settings: In the opioid multidistrict litigation (MDL) formed in a federal district court, where more than 2,400 cases filed by local governments (and other non-governmental plaintiffs) have been coordinated; In various state courts, where state governments h
